Date Night
by Haberdashing
Summary: Avarice AU fic. Henry meets Stan for the first time... sort of.


"I cannot _believe_ you haven't seen Ducktective before I can't wait to show you this is gonna be _great_!"

"Mabel, you've said that before. About five times. Not that I'm counting."

"But Henry..." Mabel took a deep breath and squeezed Henry's hand, which she had been holding onto ever since they stopped the car outside her house. "I know I keep repeating myself but this show is amazing and watching it with you will be double amazing and I'm just so EXCITED!"

Henry couldn't help but break out into a grin. Mabel's enthusiasm was contagious, even if deep down he was skeptical about how good a show called "Ducktective" could be. It made Mabel happy, clearly, and that was enough to bring a smile to his face as well.

Mabel unlocked the front door and walked into the house; Henry tried not to stare too much, but the place's decor was downright fascinating, like nothing he had ever seen before. After a short trip through a hallway, the pair arrived in a room dominated by a lit-up television set and a dirty yellow armchair, which was currently occupied by a gray-haired man Henry didn't recognize.

"Grunkle Ford!" The gray-haired man looked up to meet Mabel's eye. "I thought I mentioned I'd need the TV room tonight for... you know..." She made a convoluted gesture with her hands. "...date night stuff?"

The man sighed. "I'm afraid I forgot, and Stanley insisted on watching _The Lady's Handmaiden._ I tried to talk him out of it, but with no luck."

The man- "Grunkle Ford", presumably- glancing over at... something when he mentioned the name "Stanley", but Henry wasn't sure what; to all appearances, it seemed that Grunkle Ford was looking into thin air.

Mabel wrinkled her nose. "Rats. I knew I should've put up a post-it note or something... wait, have you guys met yet?"

Henry was the first to answer her. "No, I don't think we have."

"Well, no time like the present! Alright- Stan, Ford, this is Henry."

Henry waved, somewhat awkwardly, to the man in front of him. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." Ford paused before adding, in a voice low enough that Henry wasn't sure he was supposed to hear it, "I am _not_ repeating that."

Mabel gestured to the man in the armchair, who stood up from the chair gingerly. "Henry, this is my Grunkle Ford- grunkle is just a neat way to say great-uncle- and this-" Mabel's gesture moved, seeming to indicate the same space in mid-air that Ford had been looking at. "-is my Grunkle Stan. You can't see him, but Ford can, and he's totally there- he's here, right, Grunkle Ford?"

Ford smiled. "A little to the left, but yes. Stan is currently making faces at you, mature individual that he is."

"Two can play at that game!" Without hesitating, Mabel stuck out her tongue and started manipulating her face with her hands.

Ford laughed while shaking his head in amusement. "Stan says that you don't stand a chance against someone who can literally change their face."

"Well, that's just cheating!" Mabel stopped sticking her tongue out and put her hands on her hips for a moment, wrinkling her nose again in mock annoyance, before looking up somewhat sheepishly at Henry. "So... yeah, those are my grunkles. They're a bit... odd-" Ford burst into laughter at this point, though Henry wasn't sure if it was because of Mabel's words or because of something he personally couldn't hear. "-but they're great people, really, I promise."

"I believe you." Henry extended his arm in the direction of Ford, who gladly shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Ford."

Henry then moved his arm until it was extended not towards Ford, but towards the seemingly-empty space that held Stan instead. "And nice to meet you, too, Stan."

Henry waited a minute to lower his arm back to his side, leaving more than enough time for a handshake to take place; it might well have been his imagination, but during that time, Henry could swear he felt a chill pass through his hand.

"Stan can't really shake hands at the moment, but he appreciates the gesture." Ford said, adding after a moment, "He didn't actually say that much, but he might as well have."

"So... how much longer does this movie go?" Mabel asked.

"It just started, actually." Ford sighed. "I suppose we can clear out for you, though. You did give us warning, it's not your fault it slipped my mind."

"Or maybe we could watch it with you." All eyes turned towards Henry as he spoke up, but he pressed onward. "If you like it that much, it can't be all bad, right?"

Ford let out another sharp laugh, and Henry could feel his ears turning red, not sure if he was missing out on a private joke or if he had made a costly misstep.

"That's a great idea, Henry!" Mabel grabbed Henry's hand; her hand was, to his surprise, as damp with sweat as his own. "But after that, we're marathoning Ducktective."

"Sure, Stan's only seen it twenty times before, right? Oh, excuse me, ONLY fifteen times. My mistake."

And this time, when Ford and Mabel started laughing, Henry joined in.


End file.
